29 February 2012

Xfm is saluting The Greatest Frontmen Of All Time and we want you to have your say!

In the first of our Xfm Legend Polls to celebrate our 20th anniversary, we're nailing down the greatest exponents of, well, pretty much everything.

So who's your top frontman? The one you can't take your eyes off? The one who prevents you from taking notice of the rest of the band? Is it Gallagher? Lydon? Plant? Cobain? Morrissey? Jagger? Or even young Alex Turner?

You can watch highlights on Saturday March 3rd at 11.55pm (UK Time) on Channel 4 (UK Only).

The year's most rock 'n' roll awards show kicks off at London's Brixton Academy. Hosted by Jack Whitehall and featuring live performances from Kasabian, Florence + The Machine, The Horrors, The Vaccines, The Maccabees, and Godlike Genius Noel Gallagher.

Also on Saturday March 3rd at 9.25am (UK Time) on Channel 4 (UK Only) presenter Alexa Chung for a behind-the-scenes look at this year's NME Awards show, packed with celebrity interviews, backstage gossip and exclusive live performances.

As Noel Gallagher is crowned NME Awards Godlike Genius for 2012, we look back at his remarkable career, from first picking up a guitar aged 13, to the debauched top-of-the-world aftermath of '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?'.

Shoot A Hole Into The Sun, the first track from Noel's collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous, was given its exclusive debut on BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show this evening. Listen to the new track below!

The song is the B side to new single Dream On which is available in the UK on digital from 11th March and on limited edition, numbered 12" vinyl and CD.

28 February 2012

Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released on February 28, 2000. In 1999, the year preceding the final release of this album, Oasis had lost two founding members (Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan) and hired a new producer (Mark "Spike" Stent). As a result of these changes, the album's tone was more experimental, with electronica and psychedelic influences. The darker feeling and psychedelic tone of this album is a departure from earlier Britpop-influenced Oasis records.

Songs such as the Indian-influenced "Who Feels Love?", the progressive "Gas Panic!" and the electronica "Go Let It Out" depart from Oasis' old Britpop style. The album was the sixth fastest selling album in UK chart history, selling over 310,000 copies in its first week. Despite becoming their fourth number one album in the UK, it is one of the band's lowest-selling albums, selling only 3 million copies worldwide.

Trivia

The album's title was taken from the words of Sir Isaac Newton: "If I can see further than anyone else, it is only because I am standing on the shoulders of giants". Noel Gallagher saw the quote on the side of a £2 coin whilst in a pub and liked it so much he thought it would be a suitable name for Oasis' new album. He then wrote the name on the side of a cigarette packet whilst drunk. When he awoke in the morning, he realised he had written "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants — A Bum Title".

Due to the departure of Bonehead and Guigsy from the band whilst the album was in production, their parts had to be re-recorded, for legal reasons. Thus, the album only features the Gallagher brothers and Alan White. The sleeve of the album also features them.

The first track, "Fuckin' in the Bushes", is featured on the soundtrack for the film Snatch, and is regularly used in introductions for high-tempo events, due to its quick tempo and loud volume.

In the April 2006 issue of Q magazine, the album was the only Oasis record to feature in a countdown of the "50 worst albums of all time". It was placed at number 46 and described as "the low point of their fallow years", despite the fact that the album had been favourably reviewed in the magazine at its time of release and featured in the magazine's "50 Best Albums of 2000" list. In response to the Q feature, Noel has said, "Even though it wasn't our finest hour, it's a good album born through tough times. I worked harder on that album than anything before and anything since."

A notable B-Side was Lets All Make Believe. This song was on the Go Let It Out single and is said to be one of the bands finest songs. Q Magazine declared it the greatest ever "lost" track in the February 2007 issue and said that if it was on the album it would have carried "an extra star" on the review. Q gave this album 4 Stars back in 2000, meaning an extra star would be 5 stars. So with Lets All Make Believe on the album, according to Q magazine's logic, SOTSOG would have been a 5 star classic.

A bootleg of demo sessions recorded for this album was leaked onto the internet in January 2000. Most of these songs were recorded by Noel Gallagher with the help of a couple of friends in his home studio at Supernova Heights and at Oasis' own Wheeler End Studios complex. All of the songs, apart from "Little James", were sung by Noel.

The tracklisting of the demo bootleg is:

"Carry Us All""Who Feels Love?""Fuckin' in the Bushes""Little James""Gas Panic!"Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is""Sunday Morning Call""I Can See a Liar""Go Let It Out""Roll It Over""Revolution Song""Where Did It All Go Wrong?""(As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes in Hell""Just Getting Older""Let There Be Love"

At the time of the leak, four songs ("Carry Us All", "Revolution Song", "Just Getting Older" and "Let There Be Love") were not scheduled for release on either the album or as B-sides on the new single "Go Let It Out". These songs were also completely undocumented, apart from "Revolution Song", which had been mentioned by author Paolo Hewitt in his 1999 book Forever the People — Six Months on the Road with Oasis. As such, these four songs had made-up titles based on commonly-repeated phrases mentioned in the songs. Whilst "Carry Us All" and "Just Getting Older" were correctly guessed, the other two tracks were given titles which, in time, would prove to be incorrect. "Revolution Song" was given the title "Solve My Mystery" and "Let There Be Love" was given the title "It's a Crime". "Let There Be Love" was released on Don't Believe the Truth. Because Noel mentioned in a February 23, 2000 interview with Melody Maker magazine that "Revolution Song" had been demoed — but not released because Blur had recently released a similar sounding song — it can be assumed that these titles are correct.

Currently, only one song ("Revolution Song") remains commercially unreleased.

27 February 2012

Noel Gallagher dedicated a song to his daughter at his concert at The 02 arena in London last night (26.02.12).

Before playing 'Little by Little' the rocker revealed he was performing it for his 12-year-old daughter Anais - his child with ex-wife Meg Mathews - because it used to be her favourite Oasis track.

He told the sell-out crowd: ''I'm dedicating this to my daughter ... she said it was her favourite song when she was nine.''

Noel thrilled fans by playing a set loaded with songs from his debut solo album 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' and Oasis tracks and he and his band were backed by the Crouch End Festival Chorus and the Hertfordshire Chorus.

Highlights included 'Everybody's on the Run', 'If I Had a Gun...', '(Stranded On) The Wrong Beach' and 'Freaky Teeth'.

An acoustic version of 'Supersonic' prompted a mass sing-along, as did 'Half the World Away' and 'The Death of You and Me'.

After he performed Oasis B-side 'Talk Tonight' one emotional fan at the front told Noel he loved him ''more than David Beckham''.

The 44-year-old musician said: ''Are you all enjoying yourself? I'm enjoying myself, I bet you're having a right f***ing laugh out there. You love me more than David Beckham, that's pure love. I love you too mate.''

However, some cheeky fans jokingly heckled Noel to play songs recorded by his brother Liam Gallagher's band Beady Eye.

Noel performed a four-track encore comprised of Oasis songs 'Whatever' - dedicated to the ''people at the back'' - Little by Little', The Importance of Being Idle' and 'Don't Look Back in Anger'.

Before playing his final song, Noel gestured to the 30-piece choir and said: ''I'd like a round of applause for the people at the back here. It's been an absolute pleasure to play for you. We'll see you somewhere down the road, thank you very much for coming tonight.''

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds have been confirmed to play at this year's V Festival performing in Chelmsford on 18th August and in Stafford on 19th August.

Tickets go on general sale at 10:00am on Friday 2nd March through the festival's website: www.vfestival.com

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are set to tour throughout 2012 with gigs so far confirmed for the UK, Ireland, Europe, North America and Japan. To keep up to date on all forthcoming touring activity head on over to the GIGS section HERE! or sign up to the mailing list HERE!

Below is the setlist for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds concert at the 02 Radio Arena in London yesterday.

(It’s Good) To Be FreeMucky FingersEverybody’s On The RunDream OnIf I Had A GunThe Good RebalThe Death Of You And MeFreaky TeethSupersonic(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record MachineAKA... What A Life!Talk TonightAKA... Broken ArrowHalf The World AwaySolder Boys And Jesus Freaks(Stranded On) The Wrong BeachWhateverLittle By LittleThe Importance Of Being IdleDon’t Look Back In Anger

A number of pictures from the gig can be found on our Twitter page here.

26 February 2012

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will play at the 02 in London, England UK later today (February 26th).

The concert sold out in a matter of hours but fans who were unable to buy tickets will now have a chance to see it live on the big screen as the performance will be directly broadcast via satellite in high definition and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound into select Vue Cinemas across the UK!

Two days after his performance at the Brit Awards, Noel Gallagher was in Newcastle to perform a sell-out gig.

Although initially appearing on stage illuminated by a single spotlight, the former Oasis songwriter and guitarist wasn’t alone; he had his High Flying Birds with him. Bass, lead guitar, drums and keyboard were bolstered by a choir, the Hertfordshire Chorus, plus a three-strong brass section to recreate the sound on his chart-topping debut solo album.

But the 20-song set, which featured much swapping of guitars, kicked off with Oasis songs, (It’s Good) To Be Free and Mucky Fingers, before moving on to the new material with Everybody’s On The Run.

Claiming to be “sweating Champagne” after a night out that had continued until 5am that morning, Gallagher was in fine form. My brother, a veteran of Oasis concerts, reckons Gallagher senior doesn’t fill the stage like his little brother Liam, but he had no problems engaging the crowd.

There were football taunts and banter about the renamed St James’ Park but the audience forgave him, at one point breaking into chants of “legend”.

“To be a legend you’ve got to be dead for 20 years – at least that’s what my daughter reckons,” said Gallagher. “We’ll have none of this legend nonsense, now go and buy a T-shirt on the way out.”

He might have joked it was all about the merchandise not the music but the crowd would have disagreed. New song If I Had A Gun, about a quarter of the way through the set, had everyone singing, as did an acoustic version of Oasis classic Supersonic and Half the World Away.

The new material went down well, including the rocky Freaky Teeth which isn’t on the High Flying Birds album, but it was the well-loved Oasis tunes that had grown men flinging one arm around their mates, pointing at Gallagher with the other and singing their hearts out.

The encore of Little By Little, The Importance of Being Idle and Don’t Look Back In Anger – was pure Oasis, but given the strength of his solo material, it’s unlikely that will remain the case for long.

Below is the setlist for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds concert at the SECC Hall 4 in Glasgow yesterday.

(It’s Good) To Be FreeMucky FingersEverybody’s On The RunDream OnIf I Had A GunThe Good RebalThe Death Of You And MeFreaky TeethSupersonic(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record MachineAKA... What A Life!Talk TonightAKA... Broken ArrowHalf The World AwaySolder Boys And Jesus Freaks(Stranded On) The Wrong BeachWhateverLittle By LittleThe Importance Of Being IdleDon’t Look Back In Anger

A number of pictures from the gig can be found on our Twitter page here.

Noel Gallagher had an eventful time at a packed out Metro Newcastle Arena last night.

As has been the case on previous visits he engaged in some ‘banter’ with the locals.

As a well-known Manchester City fan and not doing much harm playing the pantomime villain, spouting off about the relative merits of our teams, Noel lapping up the abuse.

Mr.Gallagher wasn’t quite as impressed though with the reaction when he was trying to be clever talking about how much he was looking forward to coming up to the, “Sports Direct Arena”.

Not only was Gallagher met with a torrent of abuse, there was also a (not of course that we condone any violence) well aimed shot (Shola was not believed to be involved) from the crowd as a bottle and Noel came together.

Former music mogul Alan McGee is adamant the only reason a resurgence of Britpop bands is proving popular is because "modern music is rubbish".

At Tuesday's (21Feb12) Brit Awards, 1990s icons Blur and Noel Gallagher took to the stage to perform, while the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, also hugely popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, have announced comeback tours for later this year (12).

McGee, who discovered Oasis and ran Creation Records, is convinced music fans are turning back to bands from the Britpop era because new music is so boring.

He tells The Sun, "The Brit Awards used to be edgy and fun during their heyday. Then they'd bring out some old dude at the end like Phil Collins to bore the pants off you and collect a Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Now the ceremony is the bland bit and the band at the end are the best bit. I enjoyed Noel Gallagher's performance...

"The only reason Britpop is back is because all modern music is rubbish. I've lost all interest in it. It is amazing that The Stone Roses are coming back. They are right up there - one of the greatest bands of all time."

McGee is auctioning his collection of music memorabilia in Manchester on Saturday (25Feb12), including Oasis' original demo tapes.

Quite aside from 'Wonderwall' and all the songs he wrote for Oasis, Noel Gallagher is surely one of the most gifted ranters of his generation. Middle age, marriage, fatherhood and a successful solo career may have mellowed him, but still, when the 44-year-old songwriter is in full flow, it's the vituperative equivalent of the guitar solo from 'Live Forever'.

'Margaret Thatcher?' he spits, face creasing, eyebrows arching. 'I don't know what they're glorifying in that film. I f***ing hated her. We should celebrate when she dies. Serious. We're already talking between a few of my friends of doing a "Thatcher is Dead" gig.'

He won't reveal who else might be involved but does say they are 'prominent' musicians. 'She ruled the country with an iron fist. She started that thing that's been prevalent since, where politicians really only give a s*** about London. People say the Queen brings so much business to this country. No, no, no, she brings business to this city. How does the Queen benefit the people of Manchester, or Newcastle, or Leeds?'

Well, I'm glad we cleared that up. A recent interview in the Mail on Sunday painted Gallagher as a 'True Blue Conservative', after he said he preferred the music in Thatcher's day. Warming to his theme, he turns to the subject of David Cameron ('Let's be honest, he's just making it up as he goes along'), Nick Clegg ('No one gives a f*** what he thinks'), and Ed Miliband ('Nor him'). Oh, and modern music: 'I can't buy into bands nowadays, cos they're f***ing idiots. I read interviews and none of them have got anything to say. You're required to have a f***ing opinion.'

Gallagher takes this requirement very seriously, even if his opinions do usually end up a) contradicting each other and b) getting him into trouble. But looking lean, energetic, and unfussily dressed in a Paul Smith striped blazer, he seems happy. He may not like doing photo shoots - 'I'll never understand why 167 images have to be taken of one scowling middle-aged man' - but he has made the transition to solo artist gracefully since Oasis split in 2009.

His debut album, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, has done far better than anyone expected, going straight to number one late last year and hanging around the top ten for months after its release. It finds him branching out in ways many former Oasis fans gave up hoping he ever would: moving suspiciously close to disco on the single 'AKA… What a Life'; lobbing in a trombone solo on 'Dream On'. His tour has already been upgraded from theatres to arenas. 'If I'd have sat down on the first day of recording and wrote a script of how I'd have liked it to go… it's gone better than that,' he says.

His second album, likely to be released next year, is a collaboration with the psychedelicduo Amorphous Androgynous. He is clearly revelling in his freedom. 'Oasis was a big cruise liner and now I'm like a Sunseeker speedboat. When you're out in LA, someone asks you to write a song for a film, and you can just do it,' he says. He can work at his own pace - fast - now. He can also put a trumpet solo on a song without first having to counsel his brother Liam.

Speaking of Liam... he eventually dropped his lawsuit against Noel on their mother Peggy's advice, and they're talking again, though Oasis, unlike Pulp, Blur and The Stone Roses, won't be re-forming any time soon. 'I'm tired of talking about it. That band isn't together any more. That's it. I've nothing more to say on the subject of a hypothetical reunion. 2015? Is that what we're talking about? I might have cancer! F*** off.' What does Noel think of Liam's new band? 'Beady Eye? I like them.'

Noel is in a good place. He married his long-term partner, Sara MacDonald, 39, a publicist, last year (they have two sons, Donovan, four, and Sonny, 16 months) and is fairly domestic these days in his new Maida Vale home. 'We've been together for 11 years. I just got to the point where I'd introduced Sara as my girlfriend one time too many. I was like, "I sound like Rod Stewart. We should all have the same surname in our house." ' His daughter Anaïs, 12, from his first marriage, to Meg Mathews, has recently been signed up (somewhat controversially) by the top model agency Select and has already been photographed by Mario Testino. Still, Noel ascribes his recent prolific output to needing to get out of the house. 'If I can give you any advice, it's this: every hour that you spend sat on the couch doing nothing, put it to good use, because when you have kids, an hour is like a lifetime.' His favourite hobby at the moment is shopping online at mrporter.com. He'll over-buy and then get his assistant to send 90 per cent of it back. For today's shoot he insists on dressing himself and on his blazer sits his latest purchase, a Lanvin pin.

Songwriting is a calling for Gallagher but he'll joke about everything else. 'Music is a thing that changes people's lives. It has the capacity to make young people's lives better. Music got us through school, break-ups, whatever - so it's more than just entertainment, the way I see it. It's like, if you can write it, you should do. You've got a duty to the world to put it f***ing out there. There's not enough good things in the world. You've not got a duty to make more guns, or synthesise more drugs, or f***ing design more cars. But you've got a duty to make music. If you can, you should.'

When he describes the seven years he spent on the dole in the 1980s, taking drugs, his 'kids these days have it too easy' line makes a lot more sense. He used to have to traipse halfway across Manchester to be able to use a four-track recorder. 'I'd risk certain death if I was seen by any football hooligan: "Who do you think you are with a f***ing guitar, you f***ing poof?" ' The idea that you can now carry a recording studio around on your iPhone clearly troubles him; it's all too easy nowadays.

'Gone are the days when Virgin Records was owned by Richard Branson, a fan of music. Now they're all owned by some guy who bought it off some guy who bought it off some guy who wants a return on his investment,' he says. He refrains from slagging off Simon Cowell (he turned down an invitation to be an X Factor judge, much to Anaïs's disappointment), but he does say, 'With the greatest respect to him and that TV show, that's not music. It only works cos it's been on television and stupid people buy it.' And he believes the Brit School (alma mater of Adele and Jessie J) has made all chart acts the same.

'Fact of the matter is that great music died quite a while ago. Remember when there were all cool bands in the chart? Oasis, Blur, Pulp and The Verve. Manic Street Preachers could be in the top ten for a month! Now it's Jessie J and f***ing Duffy. Everybody's got records "featuring" somebody else: it's either a s*** rap about somebody's struggle, or just… f***ing s*** music set to some reggae backbeat sung in some trans-atlantic f***ing accent. And then they'll throw some Cockney in just to keep it f***ing "real".'

He narrows his eyes wryly. 'Still, saying that, when these kids make the music, I'm sure they're not trying to please a 44-year-old dad of three. You know what I mean? It's for kids, innit. We had our shot, it was f***ing great, and now it's different.' It's all warm nostalgia with Blur these days - back in 1995, he expressed a wish that Damon Albarn and Alex James die of AIDS. He is pleased they are due to win the lifetime achievement award at the BRITs this year. 'Aw, it's great. Their one will be designed by Peter Blake [the pop artist and designer of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper cover]. Our one just looks like a bubble-bath holder. I met Damon recently for the first time in about 15 years. We had a beer and a catch-up. We were actually talking about the state of music, like two old fellas.' Since the release of Noel's latest album he has won NME's Godlike Genius award, Q's Icon award and been nominated for British Male Solo Artist at the BRITs.

He holds his hands up when he considers Albarn's recent experiments with Chinese opera and Elizabethan ballads. When I ask about his own proudest achievement, he says, 'Knebworth. I'm really proud of that phase, what became known as Britpop. The fact that Definitely Maybe still gets voted in the top ten albums of all time, the fact that different generations discover it once every five years. I'm proud of not being Pete Doherty, do you know what I mean? Someone like him, who evidently has all the tools to be a great songwriter and a great lyricist, but is f***ing too busy getting off his head. I'm glad at one point, I said, "Drugs are a good laugh - but the art is better." '

Noel snorted his last line of cocaine in 1998, shortly after finishing Oasis's Be Here Now tour. 'There was one afternoon where I said, "You know what? No more." The initial plan was to go straight for two weeks. Two weeks turned into two months… two years…' He describes his wife Sara as the 'catalyst' who made it all work.

Our talk turns to current affairs - he is addicted to Sky News and has been glued to the Leveson Inquiry. He reckons his phone was tapped, back in the day. 'Why do the c***s not tap people's phones that work for us?' he wants to know. 'If you've got phone-tapping equipment, do some good with it! Phone-tap a f***ing vicar who's molesting children! Oh no, no, but Jordan's bought a f***ing Mini.' He is spitting mad at the riots, a variant on his 'kids have it too easy' theme. 'It was like a Monty Python sketch. There was all this doom and gloom on the telly, people saying the riots spread through Twitter. Isn't it amazing that the riots spread through really expensive technology, through £500 BlackBerrys?'

For someone who considers that what people took most from his songs was 'the spirit', he is fundamentally pessimistic. 'Protest, it's not going to change anything,' he says. 'It's like when they had that protest in Hyde Park when the second Iraq war was about to kick off. They were all marching through Marylebone, where I lived at the time, trying to get me to come along. I was going, "What are you marching for?" They were going, "Against the war, man!" I said: "Do you seriously think George Bush is going to stop his war machine because there's a lot of people in Hyde Park?" ' I don't know, I say, if you'd have taken your guitar down there, regaled the masses with a spot of 'Talk Tonight', who knows? 'Oh everyone would have had a good time. But Occupy Wall Street… what are they doing?'

Hang on, I say. Is this because you're part of the one per cent now? 'I don't give a f***. Whatever I got, I earned. Nobody gave it to me. I got it through going out and f***ing working. So if I am one of the one per cent, f***ing good. I didn't get it through robbing you. You bought my records. And for every pound I earned, I guarantee you, there's somebody else earned seven. Occupy Wall Street? Bring down the banking system? All right, well, what happens after that?' But Oasis was so much about empowering people - positive energy, get out and do something. 'Of course! But Oasis was about people changing their lives for themselves.' That's so Thatcherite, I say. And he bursts out laughing, reminding me why I stopped listening to Oasis, but also why I loved them so much in the first place.

Well… Can't remember when the last time was we spoke… To be honest I'm having trouble remembering anything after the BRITs! What a smash up!! Well enjoyed it. It'll probably be the last time I ever get nominated so we were pretty determined to rip it a new arsehole, and from what I can gather we had a right good crack at it too. It's all got a bit too slick that thing now though, it's treated with a bit too much respect, if you ask me… It is but a TV show with a few awards carved up and spread around… And if I'm not very much mistaken did I detect the faint whiff of a few wrong 'uns miming? I think I did… You know who you are and you should be ashamed of yourselves. I digged Coldplay though, and Blur and Olly Murs' dancers!! (Blimey!!!)

As for what went on after? Reports are still coming in. I remember going to a party on a boat. I remember going to another party in a posh gaff in the West End. I remember getting that comedian Rob Brydon to do his thing for us (which was fuckin' funny). I remember… well not much else, to be honest. Called it a day at about 10am!! Proper old school business. Didn't get home until 5pm the next evening and I'd somehow managed to nick a giant shoe and ended up with an £8,000 watch!!! And I don't even wear a watch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Felt as bad as I've ever felt yesterday. I was seriously thinking of phoning in sick. I needn't have worried though. Last night's gig here in Newcastle was mega… Might have been the best one yet. Had a top laugh with the crowd. A great night. If you were there, I thank you.

Let the debate over who was the most important part of Oasis end, once and for all, here and now.

Yes, singer Liam Gallagher had the Manc swagger and attitude, but there’s no doubt big brother Noel was the brains behind the outfit.

He was the one who wrote all their classic songs, and the one who broke up the band which came to define Britpop after one argument too many.

After a few months on hiatus, both emerged with new groups, Liam with Beady Eye and Noel with High Flying Birds.

Both released debut albums last year, and while Beady Eye’s received a fairly lukewarm reception from the critics, NGHFB’s saw him nominated for a Brit Award.

Here, Noel took his band on the road, and the fact this was one of nine sold-out arena UK dates told its own story.

From the moment he took to the stage to a cover of the Oasis song (It’s Good) To Be Free, originally buried away as a B-side, it was clear The Chief was back in town.

Mucky Fingers, another cover of a song by his old band, followed, and that was that particular elephant - will he play any Oasis tunes? - out of the room.

Now it was down to business, and a salvo of songs from his solo debut followed; Everybody’s On The Run, Dream On and If I Had A Gun.

All were greeted like old favourites, despite the fact the album only came out in October, and, over the course of the night, all but one track (Oasis leftover Stop The Clocks) got an airing.

After half an hour the leather jacket came off and you knew he meant business; it certainly was, with a sublime acoustic version of Supersonic.

More Oasis songs followed in the 70-minute main set, namely Talk Tonight and the wonderful Half A World Away - to think he tossed these away as B-sides when you hear some of the dross clogging up the charts these days is incredible.

He proved he still knows how to write a classic with one of the songs of the night, AKA... What A Life from the High Flying Birds album.

As well as his excellent four-piece band, who were every bit the equal of Oasis (probably better, if truth be told), he was joined on stage at various stages of the night by a three-piece horn section and the Hertforshire Choir, conducted by a Geordie, David Temple.

The banter with the crowd was good too, with references to the Sports Direct Arena and urging fans to buy a T-shirt on their way out (“merchandise is where it’s at, innit?”).

The best was saved until last though, a four-song encore of Oasis classics - Whatever, Little By Little, The Importance of Being Idle and Don’t Look Back In Anger.

A rare outbreak of modesty probably prevented Noel agreeing with the fans down the front that he is a legend. “Haven’t you got to be dead?” he deadpanned. But he is. No question.

The 'Dream On' hitmaker impressed Chris Martin with a sound loop he created as they rehearsed for their collaboration on 'AKA... What a Life' at the BRIT Awards on Tuesday (21.02.12) and now the musical sample looks likely to be used on one of the group's new songs.

Coldplay's roadie revealed on their blog: "Their tune kicks off and Chris is unsure quite how he's going to fit his piano into the fearsome wall of sound. With a little work though, it all starts to come together.

"The piano is right next to Noel's amps. As you'd expect, this is the place to be for getting the full effect of the Gallagher guitar. Noel stamps on a pedal and starts off a loop of glorious noise. Immediately Chris is on his feet and shouting, 'What the hell is that?'

"Chris has his iPhone out to record it, excitedly proclaiming it the most amazing thing he's ever heard. Noel is laughing as the pedal loops away through the stack. Fast forward to the dressing room on show day and Chris is handing me the pedal responsible for all the fuss. It turns out that Noel has come in and motioned Chris over to his dressing room next door with the words, 'I've got a little present for you...'

"Chris is holding it with great reverence and excitement, 'Can you record what's in here immediately? And then give it Rik? We're going to take it back to the studio and run it through Jonny's rig and mic it up.' The pedal is only the size of a block of butter, but I find myself carrying it through the backstage in both hands as though dropping it could send the whole place up in smoke.

"Where it'll end up, I've no idea, but if it finds its way into a song, Noel could easily be playing on the next record without ever having set foot in the studio. Wonderful madness..."

As well as playing with Noel, Chris and his Coldplay bandmates opened the BRIT Awards at London's The 02 with a performance of 'Charlie Brown'.

Although they only played one song, it took as much work to build the stage as it would for a full concert for the band.

The blog post read: "From a crew perspective, the show was pretty full-on for under four minutes' worth of TV. Huge pyro', lasers, a huge 'orb' crammed with even more strobes, lasers and exploding stuff. Once the band jumped off the stage, the gear was strapped in and the whole stage flown into the roof above the heads of the diners below until the end of the show. Never a dull moment!"

Below is the setlist for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds concert at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle yesterday.

(It’s Good) To Be FreeMucky FingersEverybody’s On The RunDream OnIf I Had A GunThe Good RebalThe Death Of You And MeFreaky TeethSupersonic(I Wanna Live In A Dream In My) Record MachineAKA... What A Life!Talk TonightAKA... Broken ArrowHalf The World AwaySolder Boys And Jesus Freaks(Stranded On) The Wrong BeachWhateverLittle By LittleThe Importance Of Being IdleDon’t Look Back In Anger

A number of pictures from the gig can be found on our Twitter page here.

23 February 2012

Creative design agency One Big Company designed the new S/S 2012 look book for Liam Gallagher’s clothing brand Pretty Green, which was then printed by Principal Colour in Kent. This beautifully made object was inspired by record sleeves and features stunning photography shot on London’s Hampstead Heath. We caught up with designer Dave Uprichard to find out what goes into putting a look book together.

Your most recent project has been the creation of a look book for Liam Gallagher’s clothing company Pretty Green. How did the collaboration come about?

Myself, Matt and Neil (the other members of the One Big Company team) were contacted by a former colleague from our time at Ted Baker who now designs the collections for Pretty Green.

What do you think sets the Pretty Green collection apart from other fashion collections for men?

Apart from the inherent sense of cool which comes through its associations with Liam Gallagher and the best bits of the British music scene what’s great about Pretty Green compared to other fashion collections is that each season is different - obviously your staples are still there but there’s no taking the best selling styles from previous collections, adding a different button or pocket to it and rolling out something which is 99% the same as last year.

Read the full article and check out some exclusive pictures of the Spring/Summer 2012 collection here.

Noel Gallagher has told the NME that he has dusted down a couple of lost songs from his Oasis days and is planning on hitting the studio to record them.

The first song is called Revolution Song and dates back to the Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants sessions from 1999.

The songwriter said that “I've finished it off now” and added "It's not called 'Solve My Mystery', it's not called 'It's A Crime', it's f**king called Revolution Song".

The other song he plans to record is called 'God Help Us All' which was last heard on the Lord Don't Slow Me Down DVD release.

Speaking about that track he said "I'm going to finish that one as well" and added "I have got little bits of songs knocking around that I have managed to finish off as I'm not in the band anymore. All in good time".

A lot of folks are saying that Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds is the best Oasis record in 15 years, and if you ask the album's producer, Dave Sardy, there's a good reason for that: "It's because Noel wrote all the songs. Those first few Oasis albums were all Noel, as is this one. So there you go - figure it out."

Sardy's association with Gallagher began with Oasis' 2005 album, Don't Believe The Truth, and continued on 2008's Dig Out Your Soul. But it was on High Flying Birds that the two hit a creative peak. "I've been waiting for this album since I met Noel," says Sardy. "He's unlike any other artist I've ever worked with, except for Johnny Cash, in that he's always writing. Even when he's warming up his voice, he's writing material. So I'm not surprised that this record turned out pretty great."

The Brooklyn-born Sardy started out as a musician, most notably with the group Barkmarket, before moving to the other side of the glass. By the early '90s, he became known as a "hardcore superstar," thanks to his work with bands such as Helmet, Orange 9mm and Cop Shoot Cop. Eventually, he helmed well-received discs by Jet and The Dandy Warhols, which caught the ears of the Gallagher brothers.

While Sardy's star rose amongst the artist community, his work also attracted the attention of the film industry, and during the past decade he's worked on scores for films such as Zombieland, 21, the just-released Ghost Rider 2: Spirit Of Vengeance and the upcoming End Of Watch (written and directed by David Ayer, who scripted Training Day).

MusicRadar caught up with Sardy at his LA studio to talk about Noel Gallagher on High Flying Birds, his approach to production, what it was like for a Brooklyn guy to work in the famed Abbey Road Studios and why he finds film scores so exhilarating.

Noel Gallagher has revealed that he refused to play at a festival at the same time as the Stone Roses.

The singer is on tour in America when the band play their reunion shows at Heaton Park later this year.

Speaking to the MEN newspaper, Gallagher said that when he found out he'd be on the bill at an as-yet-to-be-announced summer festival with the Roses, he told organisers his set would have to be shifted so he can watch the band.

“I was billed at these festivals to headline another stage and I said, 'Well I'm not going on while the Roses are on', do you know what I mean? They've not done a gig for 100 years, what am I going to do? Play to two f*cking dogs and a cat and two stewards? Five Oasis fans shouting for Wonderwall?

"So I said I'd go on before them, and there's a bit of the promoters going: 'Oh, f*cking hell'. So I said, 'It's either that or I won't do it'. Cos I want to see them, do you know what I mean? I don't want to be the only person in England who hasn't seen them - 'I was in the same room as them... never actually got to f*cking see them'."

As previously reported on Gigwise, The Stone Roses have signed two record deals ahead of their reunion shows.

Universal Records have signed the band in the UK and worldwide, while Columbia, owned by Sony, have contracted the band in the US.

Ian Brown revealed that The Stone Roses have recorded new songs during rehearsals for their live shows.

The move is set to make the band millions, after Ian Brown, John Squire, Mani and Reni announced details of three homecoming shows at Manchester's Heaton Park in June, with further festivals appearances at V, T In The Park and Spain's Benicassim.

Kevin McAnena chats with Noel Gallagher during a break between the soundcheck and performance proper, at Belfast's Odyssey Arena.

Lucky Q Radio winners were granted exclusive access to the soundcheck and rehearsal, some lucky enough to meet Noel and the band members.

Hear Noel speak about thje Oasis glory days, his new band High Flying Birds, his thoughts on current music and the 20 years of social and cultural changes he's experienced during his many Northern Ireland gigs.

Former music mogul Alan Mcgee is selling off his collection of rock memorabilia, including an original demo tape by British band Oasis.

MCGee, who founded Creation Records and discovered the Wonderwall hitmakers, is selling his prized pieces after admitting he no longer feels attached to the past.As well as the Oasis demo from 1993, other items include never-before heard tracks by The Libertines, notes from Hole singer Courtney Love, and a book given as a birthday present by Noel Gallagher’s then-wife Meg Matthews.

MCGee tells the Manchester Evening News, "I’m just clearing out all this rock and roll rubbish from my house. I’ve no real interest in the past and have sort of moved on from the music scene - I’m more interested in books and films now.

"I’ve probably only sorted out 30 per cent of the stuff so there will be more to come in future auctions. If anyone asks if I’m selling all this stuff because I’m skint (poor), it’s not true: I live in a very big house in the country."

The lots will be auctioned off as part of a larger music memorabilia sale in Manchester, England on Saturday (25Feb12).

Blur's Damon Albarn and former Oasis star Noel Gallagher put aside their years of Britpop feuding to literally kiss for the cameras at a BRIT Awards after party.

The pair were fierce rivals when Oasis and Blur were battling to be the biggest band in the UK during the mid-90s, but showed there were no hard feelings during a warm embrace at the bash on a boat which left from The O2 arena and headed up the Thames.

Gallagher, 44, kissed both hands of Albarn, 43, before planting a smacker on his lips in front of shocked guests including Professor Green, Cesc Fabregas, Adam Deacon and Coldplay's Chris Martin.

Albarn, who had earlier collected the lifetime achievement award with his Blur bandmates, said: "It's funny to think Blur were last here 17 years ago when we were big rivals. Isn't it funny how we've both mellowed after all these years? We've buried the hatchet."